How The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon secured "complicated” filming at the Louvre

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 2 managed to secure filming in one of France's most iconic locations, the Louvre. And yes, the process of getting permission was pretty much as complicated as you can imagine, but the team fought for the green light and ultimately were able to film scenes at the world-famous museum.

Daryl Dixon season 1 filmed in several of France's most iconic locations. For instance, there's a battle that takes place right underneath the Eiffel Tower, and of course, Daryl's newfound community lives in Mont Saint-Michel. In season 2, which is subtitled The Book of Carol, the crew managed to secure permission to film in the Louvre, home of the Mona Lisa. We get a glimpse of the broken-down, post-apocalyptic Louvre in the trailer. Check it out:

The process of filming scenes in such a high-security location was not easy. “Orchestrating that was really difficult and complicated," showrunner David Zobel told Entertainment Weekly, adding that, “The Louvre was always a place that we wanted to film.”

The scene that Daryl Dixon films at the Louve is a backstory for antagonist Marion Genet, the leader of the Power of the Living movement. The scene is similar to Isabelle's (Clémence Poésy) backstory in season 1 in that it takes place on Outbreak Day in Paris.

Zobel went on to discuss how the French setting enhances the show, and how the high culture gains a new context after the zombie apocalypse:

"When Norman and I first talked about the show, we loved the juxtaposition of being in a place like France, which is all about high culture and beautiful architecture and high fashion, and juxtaposing that against the apocalypse, which is everything falling apart and everything’s sh–ty."

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 2 — The Book of Carol premieres September 29 on AMC. The new season is one of the finest that the Walking Dead Universe has produced in a long time. Read our hugely positive review here:

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